{"id":895425,"date":"2026-09-14T13:02:13","date_gmt":"2026-09-14T13:02:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/895425\/"},"modified":"2026-09-14T13:02:13","modified_gmt":"2026-09-14T13:02:13","slug":"sydney-sweeney-under-fire-from-athletes-over-nude-sports-prediction-ad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/895425\/","title":{"rendered":"Sydney Sweeney under fire from athletes over nude sports-prediction ad"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n Female athletes<\/a> have reacted with anger and incredulity to a \u201chypersexualized\u201d advertising campaign featuring a nude or minimally clad Sydney Sweeney<\/a> posing with sports equipment.\n <\/p>\n

\n The campaign, for US sports-prediction market Novig, is \u201cvery damaging\u201d for female athletes and young girls looking to get into sport, Australian surfer Felicity Palmateer told CNN in an interview Monday.\n <\/p>\n

\"sydneyjpg.jpg\"<\/p>\n

Athletes hit back at sports betting ad featuring Sydney Sweeney\n <\/p>\n

A new sports betting ad, where Sydney Sweeney wears little to no clothing while posing with sports gear, has gone viral. Olympians and other athletes are now calling the ad out, saying it sexualizes and sets back women\u2019s sports.<\/p>\n

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Athletes hit back at sports betting ad featuring Sydney Sweeney<\/p>\n

1:20<\/p>\n

\n In a series of photos and videos released Wednesday, Sweeney can be seen naked or scantily clad, holding American footballs, a tennis racket or a baseball bat. In one shot, she lies naked on top of a basketball.\n <\/p>\n

\n Novig also posted an ad on its Instagram reels, which has racked up 37 million views in four days.\n <\/p>\n

\n Palmateer was one of many female athletes to criticize the campaign.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cJust absolute utter disbelief, incredibly disappointing, like, how far you can put women\u2019s sports backwards in the space of a 42-second commercial,\u201d she said to CNN, adding that the campaign \u201cis very damaging, especially for young females getting into sport, for females in sport, for females in general, just hypersexualized content.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cWe want to be valued for what we can do, not what we look like,\u201d Palmateer added.\n <\/p>\n

\n Australian four-time Olympic swimmer Ariarne Titmus posted a response to the campaign on her Instagram stories.\n <\/p>\n

\"Australian<\/p>\n

\n \u201cI wasn\u2019t going to share this as I didn\u2019t want to give this any more attention. But I can\u2019t keep my mouth shut,\u201d she said, according to CNN affiliate 9News.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cI can\u2019t describe how infuriated I feel when I watch this,\u201d Titmus wrote.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cNot only is this a kick in the face to every woman who has dedicated her life to perfecting her craft, but every woman who enjoys sports for what it really is \u2014 teamwork, friendship, dedication, excellence, unity \u2026 the list goes on.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Australian swimmer Lani Pallister was another of the athletes to hit back, posting<\/a> a compilation video of her training and competing, with an overlay that reads: \u201cDon\u2019t know what Sydney thinks sport looks like, but THIS is what sport looks like.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Fellow Australian, boxer Skye Nicholson, posted a similar video in response to the ad.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cGiving the ad campaign exactly what they wanted, but honestly these companies need to do better \ud83d\ude44 Stop sexualising women in #sport<\/a>,\u201d reads the caption.\n <\/p>\n

\n Sweeney appeared to respond to the backlash Sunday by posting a series of photos from ESPN The Magazine\u2019s annual \u201cBody Issue.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n The yearly edition featured dozens of athletes either naked or semi-nude during an 11-year run that came to an end in 2019.\n <\/p>\n

\n This is not the first time that Sweeney\u2019s involvement in an advertising campaign has caused controversy.\n <\/p>\n

\n In summer 2025, she featured in a campaign for US clothing brand American Eagle, which some claimed promoted eugenics and White supremacism.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cGenes are passed down from parents to offspring,\u201d she says in one ad. In another, she claims that \u201cmy body\u2019s composition is determined by my genes.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Sweeney didn\u2019t initially address the uproar caused by the campaign, causing people to draw their own conclusions on how she felt about the ad.\n <\/p>\n

\n Then, in November, GQ magazine<\/a> published an on-camera interview asking Sweeney about the fallout. Sweeney responded by saying she was surprised by the reaction, but she didn\u2019t apologize, instead reiterating her love for jeans and her stance that she\u2019s not there to tell people what to think.\n <\/p>\n

\n When asked if she wanted to set the record straight on her intention, the star replied with the now-viral soundbite: \u201cI think that when I have an issue I want to speak about, people will hear.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n CNN has contacted Sweeney\u2019s representatives and Novig for comment.\n <\/p>\n